FILM 1696: IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS
TRIVIA: In the film, the works of
Sutter Cane are occasionally quoted. Most if not all of these quotes are
actually taken directly from several H.P. Lovecraft short
stories with some adaptations to fit them into the film story. Most notably, in
the scene where Styles reads to Trent as he gazes into the abyss--her speech
lifts much of its description, including such elements as "the illimitable
gulf of the unknown" from the last few paragraphs of Lovecraft's "The
Rats in the Walls." In an earlier scene as well, Trent reads a line
verbatim from Lovecraft's "The Haunter of the Dark," in reference to
the black church being "the seat of an evil older than mankind and wider
than the known universe."
The Sutter Cane character is
clearly based on John Carpenter's friend Stephen King, even
referencing King's New England roots, with Hobb's End filling in for King's
Castle Rock. Carpenter directed a film version of King's Christine (1983).
Additionally Michael De Lucahad previously written the screenplay for the
King adaptation The Lawnmower Man(1987). However, the characters say that
Sutter Cane is even more popular than Stephen King.
Robot Monster (1953),
which Sam Neill is
watching at the end of the movie, is one of director John Carpenter's
favorite monster movies as a kid.
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